Method of perforating well casing



June 23, 1959 w. J. BlELsTElN METHOD OF PERFORATING WELL CASING K l 5sheets-'sheet 1 v Original Filed Sevpt. "7, 1954 INVENTOR.

illilllllllllll June 23, 1959v w. J. BIELsTElN METHOD OF PERFORATINGWELL CASING original'Filed sept. fr.' 1954 5 sheets-sheet 2 FIG. 5.

INVENTOR.

Wa/er J. Bie/stein,

ATTOR E 1 June 23, 1959 w. J. BlELs-rElN "2,891,620

. ,METHOD 0F PERFORATING WELL CASING Original Fild Sep. 7, 1954 5Sheets-Sheet 3 "4 mw' IN1 Illar/ I VENTOR. 42 Walter J. 'elsfein,

W. J. BIELSTEIN METHOD OF PERFORATING WELL 'CASING June 23, .1959

5 sheets-snaai 4 Original Filed Sept. 7,

FIG. 8.

FIG; /l.

` INVENTOR. Walter J. Bie/s fein,

ATTOR June 23, 1959 w. J. BlELsTElN METHOD oF PERFORMING WELL CASINGY 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed'Sept. F7. 1954' F/G. lola'.

FIG. lO.

INVENToR.

. Walter J. Bie/stein,

ATT

UnitedStates Pam Y `2,391,620 METHOD or PERFoRArlNG wnL-L cAslNG WalterJ. Bielstein, Corpus Christi, Tex., assignor, by mesne assignments, toJersey Production Research Company, Tulsakla., a corporation of DelawareOriginal application September 7, 1954, Serial No. 454,342, now PatentNo. 2,781,098, dated February "12, 1957. Divided and this applicationOctober 29,

1956, Serial No. 618,937

forming new perforations in the casing by tiring va gun perforator in aclean liquid and the like. l

The present invention also comprises apparatus for conducting permanentwell completions wherein the tub` ing string is permanently arranged inthe casing ata level above a plurality of hydrocarbon productivestrata.This apparatus comprises a mandrel adapted to be con#v nected to thelower open vend of theV tubing'string having a passageway adapted tocommunicate with the tubing on connection thereto. A tubular member isconnected to the lower end of the mandrel on an axis oiset oni thelongitudinal axis of the tubing. The tubular'mem-j ber may be of alength s'uiicientlygreat to extend from the lower open en d of thetubing'to' a level below the' hydrocarbon productive stratumor mayextend to With-v in the series .or plurality of hydrocarbonproductivestrata.: A packer assembly may be connected to the mandrel forThis vapplication is a division of U.S Serial No. 454,342,

filed September 7, 1954, for Walter I. Bielstein,'now U.S. Patent2,781,098 issued February l2, 1957.

The present invention may be fbriey described as a methodior treating'acased wellhaving a tubingpermanently arranged in the cased well with thelower open end Yof the tubing arranged ata level above a plurality ofhydrocarbon productive strata. In the present invention the casing isperforated in the rst of thehydrocarbon productive -stratajiollowingwhich' the lower open end offthe'tubingis closed. A treating iiuid, suchas fresh or salt water, lis then circulated down the, annulus betweenthe'trubing and casing and along the length of the casing below thetubing at least in contact with the perforations. The treating liquid isthen conducted to the tubing and flows up the tubing. Thereafter, thelower end of thetubingisopened and the well is then produced up thetubing." v

`It is contemplated that the'present invention will involve theconducting uof a treating uid, such as a lowV water loss iiuid cement,down` the tubing and spotting the huid cement in the region of theperforations in the rst stratum under conditionsl to seal theperforations following 'which a washing liquid, such as fresh or saltwater, will be circulated down the' annulus to remove excess iiuidcement from the casing `follow-ing which the washing liquid and fluidcement is conducted to the 'tubing and ilowed upwardly therein beforethe lower end of the tubing is opened and the casing perforated' insecond hydrocarbon 'productive stratum. v

i The perforating of the casingv inthe secondhydrocarbonproductive-stratum may be performed by lowering afgfunvperforator .through the open end of the tubing andring thev gun throughthe casing inthe second hydrocarbon productive stratum.fffitfis'contemplated in the practice vof the present Vinvention thatthe cement may be allowed to iill the perforations tof-form a filtercake therein to seal the`4 perforations, or a body of cement may bearranged in the casing in contact with the perforations and pressure'appliedV tothe cement `to squeeze same into the perforations or intothestrata to seal the perforations.

It isV contemplated -in the method of the present in-- vention that atreating liquid, such as uid cement, acid, acid geLtresh orsalt water,suspensions of solids of oil andthelike, maybe flowed down the tubing totreat the well'. or formation. ySuch treating operations mayincludewashing-the well to remove sand, cementing operations, fracturingV ofthe formation t through the periorations, treatment oi a formation With4acid @with acid gel, or

closing off the annulus between the tubing and the easy' ing. Arrangedin the mandrel co-axially with the longi-` tudinal axis of the tubingisflow directing means for :di-l recting uid flow from the` tubing throughthe mandrel to the tubular member andfr'om the vannulus .to 'the'packerassembly. A nipple is connected to the mandrel co-axiale' 1y with thelongitudinal axisof the'tubing' and retrievablejmeans, such as a plug,is arranged in the nipple for opening and closing the nipple. The nipplemay beused to direct -uid ow from the tub-ing through the mandrel to thetubular member. Y

The tubular member maybe'provided with 'aftack which extendssubstantially the length of the tubular menil ber land the nipple isprovided on its internal surface with a spiral indexing means forpositioning an'clorigatedcarf'4 riage, such as a tubing gun perforator,lowered through the tubing and nipple on the track member.

- The iiowk directing means'for directing fluid now through the mandreland through the packer assembly `may be a rotatable polish joint havinga flow Vpassage arranged present invention in a cased and tubed well;

therein or may |be `a retrievable plug provided with 'ii'ow' passages.

A The present invention will be further illustrated by ref-L erence tothe drawing in which:

Fig. 1 shows'an arrangement of Vthe apparatus of the Fig. 2 is asectional -view taken'along the lines'Z-J-Z of Fig. l; Y

Fig. 3 is a sectional v iew taken along the linesV 3-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is la sectional view showing a detail ofthe? indexing means andplug illustrated vin Fig. l;

Fig. 5 vis a detailed sectional View of the indexingmeans and trackmember of Fig. 1

of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 shows a detail of they device of the presentA inventionwith apacker assembly;

Fig. 9` is a view taken along the lines .9-9 of FigtdS.j

showing'the ow directing means;

Figs. 10 and 10a show a modification of the apparatus" of Fig. 8; and AI Y.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of a production plugalso:

shown in Fig. 10a.

'Referring now to the drawing in which identicalnumeralswill be employedto designate identical parts,.

f numeral 11 designates a well `casing which has been 1 4. to penetratee yslrqsarpoarmdustioa A;

arranged in a well bore 12 drilled from the earthssur-v face 13. Thewell casing 1.1 has been cementedin place with cement 14 and the casing11 has been perforated to form perforations 15 through the casing 11.and cement Fig. 7 -is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus. oi 4which has been penetrated by the well 12 and from which production ofhydrocarbons -has 'been obtained.

A tubing string 16 has been arranged in the casing 11 from the wellhead17 and is provided with Christmas tree 18. The vcasing 11 has a conduit19 controlled by casing annulus valve 20. The Christmas tree is providedwith valves 18a and 18h.

' Arranged on the vlower end of the tubing 16 is a mandrel 21. Thismandrel is provided with a passage way 22 which communicates with the'interior of the tubing `16 and has connected to it on an axisolisetting the longitudinal axis of the tubing a tubular member 23 whichhas a 4track member 24 arranged on the exterior surface thereofextending substantially the length of the tubular member. Connected tothe mandrel 21 co-,ax'ia'lly with the tubing 16 is a nipple 25 which is,provided with a spiral indexing means 26 which serves to position a gun.perforator lowered through the tubing onto the track 24.

The tubing -16 is provided with a plurality of wire line gas-lift valvemandrels 27 which are arranged on the tubing V16 at verticallyspaced-apart intervals as is conventional to the art.

, It is to be noted that the tubular member 23 extends from the loweropen end of the tubing 16 to the lower end of the casing 11. Itispossible to direct lluid through the tubing 16 and through passageway 22in the mandrel 21- by providing in the nipple 25 a retrievable tubingplug 28 which serves to close the open end of the tubing 16 and todirect fluid into the tubular member 23.

Referring now to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the mandrel 21 isconnected to the lower end of the 4tubing 16 by mating threads 29 andthe nipple 25 is connected to 'the mandrel 21 by mating threads 30. Thetubular extension member 23 is also connected to the mandrel 21 bymating threads 31. It is to be noted that the plug 28 closes the nipple25 and directs flow from the tubing 16 by way of passageway 22 into thetubular member 23.

Referring now to Fig. 6, a tubing gun perforator 41, which may beprovided with conventional bullets or shaped charges 42, has an upperhousing 40 which is provided with slots 43 through which sphericalfollowers 44 project to engage with `the spiral or indexing means 26 innipple 25. These spherical followers 44 are carried on rocker arms 45which are arranged on a rocker arm pin 46, as shown. The rocker `arms 45are biased outwardly through slots 43 by biasing means such as :coilsprings 47. The gun perforator is designed to -be run through tubing 16,out nipple 25, along track -member 2 4 to a position for perforatingcasing 11.

Referring now to Fig. 8, set in the casing 11 is a packer assembly 61having a mandrel 60 forming an integral part thereof. The -packerassembly 61 closes off the annulus 62 between the tubing 16 and thecasing 11. The packer assembly 61 is provided with bypass conduits 63and 63a while the mandrel 60 has a passageway 6'4 communicating with theextension member 23 which is connected to the mandrel 60 by matingthreads 31.

Rotatably arranged in the mandrel 60 and packer assembly 61 is a polishjoint 65 which is connected rigidly to the tubing 16 such as by welds66. The tubing 16 has a window or slot 67 therein which serves to.communicate with the passages 64 and the packer assembly 61 has a port68 which allows communication between the passageways `63 and annulus62.

`The mandrel 60 and the packer assembly 61 are suitably-sealed'by asealing means 69, 70 and 71 arranged, respectively, in recesses 72, k73and 74. A sealing member V75lis likewise arranged Iin recess 76 forproviding a seal between the `packing assembly 61 and the member 65.

y*Referring Anow to -Figs. l and 10u, iset ein the Icasing -171v is amandrel assembly 81 'to lwhich the 4extension member '.153 is-connectedvby -niating threads '31. -'The mandrel assembly 81 is provided withpackers 80 and 80a. The mandrel assembly 81 is also provided with afirst bypass conduit 82 opening ,into port 83 of tubing 16 and a secondbypass conduit 85 opening into port 86 of tubing 16. The mandrel 81 hasa passageway 87 communicating with a port 88 in the tubing 16.

In (Fig. l0 wire line ilow directing means 89 fis arranged in the tubing16 for directing flow through the extension member 23. The wire lineplug 89 is provided with a .fishing neck 9 0 and is provided with acentral passageway 91 which has an opening 92 which communicates withthe opening 88 and the passagewayjfl allowing iluids to flow through thetubing 16, the passageway 91 and through the extension member 23. Itwill be noted with respect to Fig. l0 that the plug 89 isv provided withsealing members 93 and Y94.

In the embodiment of Figs. 10a and l1 the plug 89 has been replaced by aproduction plug 100 provided with a fishing neck 101 which serves toclose the flow through the bypasses 82 and 85 .and through thepassageways 87 and 91 allowing production from the well throughpassageway 102 and through openings 103.

The plug 100 is provided with seals 104 and 105 which serve to close offow through the .bypassing conduits and through the extension member. Theexternal shoulder 106 effectively closes ,the ow between passageways 82and 85.

The invention operates as follows:

It will be noted that the tubing 16 is arrangedin basing 11 having thetubular member 23 connected .thereto and made up with the tubing 16 asit is arranged in the casing. For purposes of .this description it maybe assumed that production from stratum A has -reached a point wherewater and/or gas invasion has made the .production of liquidhydrocarbons noncommercial and it is desirable to open up production instratum B which is separated from stratum A by a non-productive stratum,such `as C, which may be shale or the like. Under these conditions, aclean fluid, such as saltwater or the like, will be circulated down theannulus 62 following the direction of the arrows fand upwardly throughthe lower open end of `the tubular member 23 and upwardly through thetubing .16

` tothe wellhead 17 and outwardly through the Christmas tree 18. Thiscirculation is continued until the well is completely washed yand thecirculation of clean iluid is terminated. A treating agent, such ascement, whichmay be a low water loss fluid cement, such yas described bySalathiel inA U.S. 2,482,459, or other low water loss fluid cementsavailable on the market may be used. This cement is flowed downwardlythrough the tubing 16 and is directed into the extension member 23 bythe wire line tubing plug 28 which has been placed in the nipple 25before the circulation, as :has been described, is initiated. The cementflows downwardly through the tubing Iand tubing extension and upwardlyin the casing `to the region of the perforations 15. This cement may beallowed to fill the perforations 15 and form a lter cake or buttonstherein as shown and indicated generally by the numeral 15a which servesto seal off the stratum A. It may be desirable, however, to spot a bodyof uid cement in the region of the perforations 15 and to imposepressure on the cement, such as with a Bradenhead squeeze, the'techniqueof which is well known to the art. In any event, after the perforations15 have been closed and sealed againstfluid intrusion from stratum A,clean ud-is circulated down -the annulus 62 to wash out the excess'fluid cement remaining inthe casing 11. This 'washing duid and fluidcement are directed up the tubular rmember 23 and through the ltubing 16to the surface of the earth 13, through wellhead 17 and Christmas tree18.

Thereafter the tubing plug 28 Vis pulled by running a wire lline with asuitable fishing tool on the end of `it to pull theplug 28 from thetubing 16. A tubing gun perforator, such as illustrated `in Fig. 6, isthen .attached to the wire-'line yand lowered 4through the tubing llandthrough the mandrel 21 into the nipple 25. The spiral followers engagewith the spirals 26 which on continued lowering of the tubing gun 41cause the tubing gun and the upper housing 40 to be positioned Von thetrack 24, one of the spiral followers engaging with the track 24 andpositioning the gun. By virtue of positioning the gun perforator 41 onthe track 24, it is possible to perforate the casing 11 in the stratumsand or interval B which is hydrocarbon productive and also to perforatethe casing 11 in the stratum B ina predetermined direction withoutdamaging the tubular member 23. After the casing 11 has been perforatedin the stratum B, the tubing gun is pulled by means of a wireline andproduction is then had from the stratum B through the perforations 15bopened up therein. This series of operations may be repeated for as manyproducing intervals or strata :as may be encountered below the lower`open end of the tubing 16.

In the apparatusV of Figs. 8 and 9 wherein a packer assembly 61 is used,it is possible to direct the flow of uid through the extension member 23yand through the packer assembly by rotating the tubing 16 to allowcommunication between the passageways 63 and 63a and between the tubing16 and the extension member 23 utilizing the treating sequence ofoperations as described with respect to Fig. 1.

The same result may be achieved by cementing and circulating out withrespect to Figs. a and 11 as described with respect to Fig. 1 and Figs.8and 9, in this Ilatter instance the plug 89 being used when circulatingand cementing and the plug 100 being used when producing.

As stated, the present invention is susceptible to many well servicingoperations and has considerable utility in that all operations may beconducted without requiring heavy-duty lifting equipment. In fact, thetubing is permanently set in the casing and completing and servicingoperations are conducted by use of wire line tools as has been describedof by simply rotating the tubing to achieve the desired circulationpatterns which are required.

The rinvention m-ay be used in fracturing Iformations, in acidizingoperations, in washing for removal of sand from casing and for gumperforating operations.

The nature and objects of the present invention having been completelydescribed and illustrated, what I wish to claim as new and useful and tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a method of perforating a well casing having parallel first andsecond pipes arranged therein in side-byside relationship with thesecond pipe extending a substantial distance below the lower open end ofthe first pipe, the steps of lowering a perforator through the firstpipe, orienting said perforator in said casing below the iirst pipe andadjacent the second pipe such that the operative surface of saidperforator is directed toward the casing and away from the second pipe,and operating said perforator to perforate only said casing below thefirst pipe and adjacent the second pipe.

2. In a method of perforating a well casing having parallel first andsecond pipes arranged therein in side-by side relationship with thesecond pipe extending a substantial distance below the lower open end ofthe first pipe, the steps of lowering a gun perforator through the firstpipe, orienting said perforator in said casing below the first pipe andadjacent the second pipe by at least partially rotating same such thatthe operative surface of said perforator is directed toward the casingand away from the second pipe, and ring said perforator to per- -forateonly said casing below the rst pipe and adjacent the second pipe.

3. In a method of perforating a well casing having parallel iirst andsecond pipes arranged therein in sideby-side relationship with thesecond pipe extending a substantial distance below the lower open end ofthe first pipe, the steps of lowering a bullet gun perforator throughthe iirst pipe, orienting said perforator in said casing below the firstpipe and adjacent the second pipe such that the operative surface ofsaid perforator is directed toward the casing Iand away from the secondpipe, and operating said perforator to perforate only said casing belowthe first pipe and adjacent the second pipe.

4. In a method of perforating a well casing having parallel first andsecond pipes arranged therein in sideby-side relationship with thesecond pipe extending a substantial distance below the lower open end ofthe first pipe, the steps of lowering a shaped charge perforator throughthe first pipe, orienting said perforator in said casing below the rstpipe and adjacent the second pipe such that the operative surface ofsaid perforator is directed toward the casing and away from the secondpipe, and operating said perforator to perforate only said casing belowthe first pipe and adjacent the second pipe.

5. In a method of perforating a well casing having parallel rst andsecond pipes arranged therein in sideby-side relationship with thesecond pipe extending a substantial distance below the lower open end ofthe first pipe, the steps of lowering a gun perforator through the firstpipe, orienting said perforator in said casing be low the first pipe andadjacent the second pipe such that the operative surface of saidperforator is directed toward the casing and away from the second pipe,firing said perforator to perforate only said casing below the firstpipe and adjacent the second pipe, and then retrieving said perforatorthrough said first pipe.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,238,165 Lynn Aug. 28, 1917 2,679,898 Forsyth June l, 1954 2,745,497Dale May l5, 1956 2,749,989 Huber June 12, 1956 2,781,098 Bielstein Feb.12, 1957 2,785,754 True Mar. 19, 1957 2,796,023 Abendroth June 18, 1957

